Chapter 35 Chapter Six Don't Be Annoyed by Others' Criticism

Unreasonable criticism is often a disguised compliment. In 1929, a major event happened in the United States that shocked the national education circle. Scholars from all over the United States rushed to Chicago to watch the excitement.A few years ago, there was a young man named Robert Hutchins who graduated from Yale University with a part-time job and worked as a writer, a lumberjack, a tutor and a salesman selling ready-made clothes.Now, just three years later, he has been named president of the fourth richest university in the United States, the University of Chicago.how old is he 30 years old!It's unbelievable.The older generation of educators shook their heads.People's criticisms of him hit this "child prodigy" like a landslide, saying that he was too young, inexperienced, and that his educational concepts were immature, and even major newspapers joined in the attack.

On the day Robert Hutchins took office, a friend said to his father: "I saw the editorial attacking your son this morning and it frightened me." "Yes," replied Hutchins' father, "very harsh words. But remember, no one ever kicks a dead dog." Yes, the more important the dog, the more capable the kicker. feel satisfied.The Prince of Windsor (the Duke of Windsor), who later became King Edward VIII of England, also got kicked in the ass.At the time, he was studying at Dartmouth College in Divinia-this school is equivalent to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, USA.Prince Windsor was only 14 years old at the time. One day, a naval officer found him crying and asked him what was the matter.He refused to tell at first, but finally told the truth: he had been kicked by the cadets.The commander called all the students together and explained to them that the prince did not complain, but he wanted to know why these people abused Prince Windsor like this.

After much delay and hesitation, the students finally admitted that when they themselves became commanders or captains of the Royal Navy, they would like to be able to tell people that they had kicked the king's ass. Probably few people would think that the president of Yale University is a vulgar person, but the former president of Yale University, Morthe Dowt, can scold a person who has run for president. "We'll see our wives and daughters, victims of legal prostitution. We'll be humiliated, we'll be crippled. Our self-esteem and virtue will be wiped out, and it'll be an outrage."

Sounds a lot like a blaming Hitler, doesn't it?No, it was a public attack on Thomas Jefferson.You may ask, which Jefferson?Could it be Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and patron saint of democracies?Yes, it was this Jefferson that the man attacked. Do you know any American who has been called a "hypocrite," "liar," or "a little better than a murderer"?A newspaper cartoon depicts the man standing before a guillotine with a machete poised to cut off his head.When he was carried to the execution ground to be executed, the crowd shouted at him.Who is this guy?It was George Washington.

But this was all a long time ago, and perhaps human nature has improved a lot now.Let's look at the example of General Peary below.Peary was an explorer. On April 6, 1899, he reached the North Pole in a dog-drawn sleigh, which shocked the world.For centuries, Arctic exploration has been the goal of heroes from all walks of life, but no one has written down the records. Instead, many people have died of injuries and starvation.Peary himself almost died of severe cold and lack of food. He had to have 8 toes amputated due to frostbite, and several times he almost had a nervous breakdown because he could not overcome the sudden changes in climate.Due to Peary's fame and popularity, several senior naval officers in Washington were dissatisfied with him and pushed him out.They accused Peary of "shaming and getting nothing done" soliciting donations for scientific research.These people probably believed that Peary was what they charged, and once people want to believe something, it's hard to disbelieve them.They tried their best to slander Peary and prevent his research work.In the end it was President McKinley's direct intervention that allowed Peary's work to continue.

Would Peary have been attacked so relentlessly if he had only been in the Navy Department in Washington?Of course not, because he is not important enough to arouse the envy of others. General Grant fared worse. During the Civil War in 1862, Grant's army won the first major victory in the north - that great victory made Grant an idol of worship in the United States overnight; that great victory shocked Europe as far away; Church bells and celebratory campfires continued from Innsbruck to the banks of the Mississippi River.But in less than six weeks, the hero of the North, General Grant, was a prisoner, the army disbanded, and he could only lament in humiliation and despair.